Fancy a new and exciting career? Life coaching is a rapidly growing industry with so many fantastic opportunities for those with drive, motivation and vision.
But before we delve into how to get certified as a life coach, let’s look at some of the qualities that make a great life coach, and take a peek at what being a life coach actually involves.
This is an incredibly rewarding career, but it can also be very challenging. Not everyone has what it takes to excel as a life coach.
So it’s time to find out more, to discover if you have what it takes…
What does a life coach do?
As the name suggests, a life coach helps people to make positive changes within their own lives.
This sounds very vague, and that’s perhaps the biggest challenge, but also the greatest joy of working as a life coach; every client is different, with unique needs, goals, and areas of their life they want to improve.
When you’re a life coach, you may feel as if you need to be an expert in everything, from relationships to careers. You never quite know where the job will take you next!
In general, a good life coach will have a well-rounded knowledge of all areas of coaching, and if you take the time to become a certified life coach, your training will cover all aspects of this diverse profession.
In time, you may choose to specialise, perhaps you enjoy helping people in one specific aspect of their lives, or you find you have the greatest success within a particular niche, such as career coaching.
Along with practical advice, a life coach can be called up to be a motivator, to help their client build their confidence, set goals and overcome life’s barriers.
What skills and talents does a life coach need?
A life coach needs to create a bond with their clients.
You’ll get nowhere if you can’t communicate with them, enabling them to feel comfortable in your presence and opening up about their hopes, dreams and fears.
Are you a natural ‘people person’? Do your friends come to you when they’re making big decisions in their lives or when they have problems? Perhaps more importantly, do people say your advice is helpful?
There’s a wealth of practical advice you can impart, but this can be learnt when you take your course to become a certified life coach.
The other part of the equation comes from within. Are you a positive person? Can you see a way out of every problem? Do you see the bigger picture when others don’t? Do you find it easy to discover and explore all the options in every scenario? Do you find it easy to put yourself in someone else’s shoes?
You’ll need excellent communication skills, and being a good listener is vital. You won’t give the best advice if you don’t listen.
You’ll need patience, and you should be flexible. While of course you can set boundaries, you may find that you gain more success when you’re available to your clients whenever they need you, even if that’s interrupting your evening or weekend.
Do you thrive on a challenge? Then your next challenge is to get certified as a life coach!
Why you should become a certified life coach
Did you know that there’s actually no requirement to be certified to become a life coach?
That’s right, it’s a totally unregulated industry, and literally anyone can set up a website and call themselves a life coach.
While this may seem like the easy option, without certification, you have no proof of your credentials, because you don’t have any!
Would you trust your life decisions to someone who wasn’t qualified? No, neither would we, and that’s why the high-profile clients, those with the most money to spend, will take their time choosing their life coach, and certification is one significant factor they’ll be looking out for.
Not only is life coaching certification a great way to show a client that you’re serious, professional and know your stuff, but you’ll also learn a lot on your course that will ensure you can offer the best possible service right from day one.
Impress your clients, give solid advice that works, and your business will grow fast through positive reviews and word-of-mouth recommendations.
How to choose the ideal life coaching course that will perfectly suit your needs
What is the best life coaching certification for you?
If you’ve been inspired to take life coaching certification and have already had a quick search on Google, then you’re perhaps feeling a little overwhelmed.
There are so many life coaching courses out there – which one do you pick?
Online or offline tuition?
The first choice you need to make is whether to take a course in a physical school or college or to take an online course.
While both can offer a positive experience, if you’re looking for flexibility, a remote course can often be beneficial as you don’t have to travel, and you may be able to study at times to suit you, rather than having to stick to a pre-planned timetable.
This is a great option if you have a busy life and want to study in your spare time. In general, online life coach courses also tend to be cheaper, as of course, there are fewer overheads, with no requirement for premises and all the bills that go with that.
You may however prefer to spend your time with other students, and group discussion can be beneficial, but on the other hand, many online courses now include video conferencing sessions, so you get to work with your peers, even if you’re not in the same room together.
With or without certification?
Some courses offer certification and some don’t.
This doesn’t mean that the quality of the course is necessarily inferior, but certification is such a huge benefit if you’re planning to set up a life coaching business, it would be foolhardy not to opt for a course that results in a certificate.
Unless you’re purely taking the course out of interest, for a hobby, with no intention of turning your skills into a profitable business, then certification should be the way forward.
You won’t see much difference in cost between a course with certification and one without, so it makes sense to get that certificate under your belt.
